Karen hosted our book group at 5 pm; five of us were there. Two couldn’t make it.
Karen is a gardener by trade and she and her husband, Keith, have a beautiful backyard. So tranquil and green, with flowers and candles. They set up lounge and regular chairs at a distance in a circle. Icy cold bottles of vino were served and Karen made mixed berry crisp with homemade peach ice cream (!) and freshly whipped cream.
Since I’m skirting sugar, I had icy seltzer, a little rich cheese, hummus, raw vegs and some tortilla chips.
We talked about how horrifying it was to think of the black women Toni Morrison wrote about in Song of Solomon. How (this was 1931) they were not able to give birth in the whites-only hospital, only on its steps. (I know this is a novel, but assume this ugliness is based in historical truth.) There are no words to effectively express how unjust and cruel that was. How humiliating. And unsafe. How exposed those women must have felt, and how frightened.
Then that led us to talking about the higher rate of birth complications and low birth weights among black women still, and then about having babies as older moms--two of us were 40 (not me, though I tried that).
And on and on, from vital issues to baking tips...how we hope our daughters will know not to wait too long for babies, the horror of what is happening in Kenosha, Wisconsin--and the berry blend Karen likes best for crisps (frozen mixed berries from Costco, delivered during this time of COVID-19).
Good night.
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Oh, this sounds lovely. How precious is the company of friends and conversations about everything under the sun and stars!
ReplyDeleteOne note on the disparities in health outcomes for black women: when I was going through my mother’s things last year after she died, I found a copy of testimony she gave to the county legislature in the 1980’s. Her recurring theme: the sad state of maternal and child health in the county was because of social and institutional discrimination, and it would be fixed by a more equitable society, not by a medical break through. (And the county legislature could help by appropriating more funds to the local health center.) Two things struck me when I read this: first, how progressive she was in her thinking way back in the eighties. Then, my god, how is it that thirty years later we’ve made so little progress?
Xoxo,
Nan
Marilyn = Goddess
ReplyDeleteYes I sure wish I knew Marilyn. Xo But I guess in their own ways, our mothers were making a difference, too....Alice
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